1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to memorialization jewelry and, more particularly, to a memorializing wristband with a photolathed picture imprinted thereon, the wristband being formed of a semi-rigid metal such as aluminum or brass in a generally rectangular strip shape which is then coated on the top surface thereof with a colored, enamel lacquer paint, following which portions of the applied paint are selectively removed by means of a photolathing or laser etching process, and finally the metal strip is formed into a generally arcuate shape adapted to generally conform to the contours of the wrist of a person wearing the memorializing wristband of the present invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many different types of memorialization jewelry which are used to honor the memory of a particular person or persons or to symbolize an identification with a particular cause or charity. Examples of such types of jewelry include the “Live Strong” bracelets which are worn to illustrate identification with cancer victims and pink ribbons which are worn to illustrate awareness of the AIDS epidemic. Such memorialization jewelry is perfectly suitable for showing identification of the individual wearing the jewelry with a particular cause or charity, but it becomes more difficult to illustrate one's affection or affiliation with a particular person or persons by wearing a piece of jewelry, as there is no ready way to illustrate the person or persons with whom the individual wishes to identify. Of course, lockets and pendants holding a loved one's picture or lock of hair are well known in the prior art, but the disadvantages of such jewelry is that not all persons feel comfortable wearing such a pendant or locket, particularly those of the male persuasion. There is therefore a need for a piece of memorialization jewelry which may be worn by men, women, and children, in an unobtrusive and comfortable manner.
An additional need for such a piece of memorialization jewelry is that it will preferably illustrate the person, place or thing being memorialized in such a manner that the image being displayed is immediately recognizable to persons viewing the memorialization jewelry, and therefore the image must be of high detail and high quality. While photographs will fulfill this requirement, photographs are notoriously easy to damage and are also difficult to affix to most types of jewelry, including wristbands and the like. Engraving the image in a metal or plastic material is a possibility, but engraving cannot render the level of detail necessary for proper memorialization of the selected person, place or thing, and therefore is not well-suited for this purpose. There is therefore a need for an image imprinting process used in combination with memorialization jewelry which will produce high quality images which are durable and will properly honor the person, place or thing being memorialized.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a memorialization wristband jewelry which will include an image of the person, place or thing being memorialized.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a memorialization wristband jewelry which will include a high quality photoimage of the person, place or thing being memorialized such that other persons seeing the image can easily discern the nature of the image being presented.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a memorialization wristband jewelry which is constructed of a thin metal strip having a paint material applied to the top surface thereof, the paint material being removed via a photolathing process to expose the metal to produce a high quality image of the person, place or thing being memorialized on the jewelry.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a memorialization wristband jewelry which, after formation of the image thereon, is formed into a generally arcuate shape which approximates the outer circumferential shape of the human wrist whereby the memorialization wristband is wearable on the wrist of a person.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a memorialization wristband jewelry which can include many different colors and designs to properly and effectively memorialize virtually any different person, place, thing or event.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide a memorialization wristband jewelry which is relatively simple and durable in manufacturing and is safe, effective, and efficient in use.